'House' Characteristics?

[big bopper]

Found myself thinking about this whilst enjoying a celebratory Siglo VI the other day, as it did share some general flavour characteristics of a Siglo II.

Does each manufacturer have 'signature' flavours or characteristics that run through all of their lines? Ego, is the enjoyment of a particular cigar a reliable indicator that you'll enjoy others in the line?

[senor_robusto]

don't mean to sound condescending, but are you new to cigars?

generally, each brand has it's own particular attributes....... flavour, strength, aroma etc!! cohiba, habanos' flagship brand has 4 different blends going on:
1. linea classica (esplendido, lancero, corona especial, robusto, panatella, exquisitos)
2. siglo (I, II, III, IV, V, VI)
3. maduro 5 (secretos, magicos, genios)
4. behike (52, 54, 56)

this is unique to cohiba...... and generally a siglo VI will taste different to, say, a behike 52 or robusto!!

the rest of habanos' brands, eg bolivar, h upmann, partagas etc etc don't have different blends within their own range with their own special attribute!! partagas being full bodied and spicy, bolivar strong and rich etc etc!! depending on time of day, what i've ate and what i'm drinking, i have specific cigars i go to........ generally i have a full bodied cigar (bolivar or partagas) after a rich meal and usually with red wine or cognac or whiskey!! after lunch, i'll have a medium bodied cigar (h upmann, HDM, RyJ) with coffee!! you get the picture.....

not sure if this helps answer your question....

alex

[senor_robusto]

also, remember, cuban cigars are handmade and vary from stick to stick!! you could try 2 different siglo VI's from the same year but from different boxes and both could be different!! in fact, you could try 2 from the same box and they could be different!! personally, my success rate with cohiba is like 1 in 5, i'll get 1 good one and 4 duffers that make me curse the brand and swear to never buy another stick from them!! lol!! that's why i stick to my trusted bolivar, partagas and h upmann...... i know what i'm getting from them in terms of consistency, enjoyment and flavour!!

alex

[tippexx]

is the enjoyment of a particular cigar a reliable indicator that you'll enjoy others in the line?

No. The fun of cigars is trying different brands and vitola to find the ones you like.

The enjoyment of cigars is returning to the ones you like.

Most of the brands do have their separate characteristics. I think the reason is historic. Once upon a time each brand was owned by an individual or family who in turn owned the fields from which the tobacco was cropped for the brand. Come the Revolution the commercial importance of the brands wasn't forgotten and there would be people about to make sure leaf from the appropriate fields went to the right factories.

Trinidad and Cohiba are post-Revolution (as are all EL and RE), these may have their own designated fields, but I suspect what was the best for several of the other brands is used for their production.

Yourself and Alex mentioned the Siglo Series. In the main the six vitola aren't that dissimilar and in all probability are made from same source leaves that can be rolled into any of the series. It's the rolling which sets the difference, size and ring gauge determine how the smoke is delivered and it is this which governs the basic taste.

Not much help I know .... much easier just to smoke them and not worry about it too much.

[big bopper]

are you new to cigars?

Yes.

generally, each brand has it's own particular attributes...

not sure if this helps answer your question....

This is what I was getting at, thanks.

[big bopper]

No. The fun of cigars is trying different brands and vitola to find the ones you like.

The enjoyment of cigars is returning to the ones you like.

Most of the brands do have their separate characteristics. I think the reason is historic. Once upon a time each brand was owned by an individual or family who in turn owned the fields from which the tobacco was cropped for the brand. Come the Revolution the commercial importance of the brands wasn't forgotten and there would be people about to make sure leaf from the appropriate fields went to the right factories.

Trinidad and Cohiba are post-Revolution (as are all EL and RE), these may have their own designated fields, but I suspect what was the best for several of the other brands is used for their production.

Yourself and Alex mentioned the Siglo Series. In the main the six vitola aren't that dissimilar and in all probability are made from same source leaves that can be rolled into any of the series. It's the rolling which sets the difference, size and ring gauge determine how the smoke is delivered and it is this which governs the basic taste.

Not much help I know .... much easier just to smoke them and not worry about it too much.

An interesting read, thanks! Not worried, just curious. Enjoying sampling different brands at the moment

[senor_robusto]

ah, it makes sense now!! lol!! that's the great thing about this 'hobby'/ vice/ whatever you call it of ours....... it's the searching for that great cigar, trying out different brands to see what suits our tastes etc!! cohiba's are expensive and not very consistent (in my experience)!! for the price of 1 siglo VI, you can get 2 great cigars (bolivar, partagas, montecristo etc etc)!! that's why i don't smoke so many cohiba's anymore!!

to be honest, i learned loads from this forum when i started smoking cigars and got great advice that lessened the learning curve, and saved me a bunch of money that i would've otherwise wasted!! i hope i can help spread that great wisdom and advice that was passed to me onto new guys like yourself!! anything else you wish to know, no matter how silly you may think it sounds, just ask, you'll find a lot of helpful comrades on here!!
"he who asks a question is a fool for five minutes! he who doesn't ask a question remains a fool forever!"

alex

[butternutsquashpie]

Most of the brands do have their separate characteristics. I think the reason is historic. Once upon a time each brand was owned by an individual or family who in turn owned the fields from which the tobacco was cropped for the brand. Come the Revolution the commercial importance of the brands wasn't forgotten and there would be people about to make sure leaf from the appropriate fields went to the right factories.

Aye. Couldn't have explained THAT better..


But come in here dear boy, have a cigar and let me wove you a tale of the history of some lines of cigars:

The Dunhill cigar is currently a holy grail of many of the members on this site. I've had a mate of mine who was lucky enough to get his hands on one from 1980 (or 1960, i have no idea.... always mix up my 6s and 8s) for a wholesome sum of $800. Now, you think this wouldn't always be like this.. you're wrong. Dunhill has always been amazing. Catering to both King George V AND Churchill himself, the brand got international fame as well as awe.
Of course, King George and Churchill was before Cuba's revolution so a nice wholesome market was established in order to push it out the more people. This meant they needed advertisements, which included Churchill and George who smoked them in public.. all for the ability to custom the cigar to THEIR tastes. The dunhills then catered to Churchills tastes and most dunhills would be tweaked to what the big man wanted himself.
Now with that out of the way, most of the other cigars aren't really manufactured THAT way. This is because a family (Ramon and Allones created Ramon Allones, etc, etc) or organisation sets up their cigars and does it their way.. not to any specific person. This creates a decent variation even within a brand. ESPECIALLY in strength.. not just in taste.
For example: Cohiba is nice, grassy, and mild. But the Lancero is a midget in strength when you compare it to the Siglo IV. The siglo IV is, however, a midget in strength when compared to the standard Partagas D4, which is a giant in strength when compared to a Partagas Short. I gave you two cigars from each brand so you have a general idea of strength variations but taste variations.. there's NO way to objectively calibrate them.. WHICH is why cigars are so damn awesome!!
Those are normal standard production cigars so there's no need to cater to specifics when there is a lack of (A) a large need to advertise due to the communist capitalist system of Cuban cigar manufacturers and (B) a lack of a person to really tweek regular production cigars to. Sure you'll hear the Che G. loved the Montecristo #4s, but that's not because MC catered TO Che Guvera.. more because Che just liked the 4s because they were none other than: The Montecristo Number Four.

One thing that each brand DOES have though, is what tippy mentioned: the same fields and tobacco grown methods. (much more different from sungrown, or shade or Connecticut or habanos. Try to think of it as Cognac: where no where else can produce Cognac because no where else has the backing knowledge, climate conditions, family traditions, soil acidity, etc.) This means they will have similar tastes. 6 months in, you should be able to recognise a cohiba even with its band removed.. it's quite different from all the other brands. Same with partagas... and later on: bolivar, Montecristo, H. Upmann..... etc etc etc

When you find old discontinued brands, they normally DO have people who tweaked and therefore streamlined tastes. but the ones you and i will smoke on the weekly basis? forget about it!

[fordi]

This is an awesome thread showing there is real knowledge within the forum. This should be a sticky that all new smoker can read to get a quick taste of cigar info.

Jeremy i had a 10 year aged Dunhill 3 weeks ago and i found it very strong indeed. So much so for the next 40 mins i had a head rush and was like a walking zombie.

[TJCoro]

This is an awesome thread showing there is real knowledge within the forum. .

Right! Which explains why those two boobs - Ray Jay and Bag Boy - have stayed away!

Looks like I got back on the boards just in time.

Names Perro, el Perro, and I'll join the discussion if I ever find the time to read the damn thing!

[fordi]

Right! Which explains why those two boobs - Ray Jay and Bag Boy - have stayed away!

Looks like I got back on the boards just in time.

Names Perro, el Perro, and I'll join the discussion if I ever find the time to read the damn thing!

Hahaha..



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[GFK1]

Found myself thinking about this whilst enjoying a celebratory Siglo VI the other day, as it did share some general flavour characteristics of a Siglo II.

Does each manufacturer have 'signature' flavours or characteristics that run through all of their lines? Ego, is the enjoyment of a particular cigar a reliable indicator that you'll enjoy others in the line?

You are correct in saying that the Siglo 6 is very similar to the Siglo 2. That is what I smoke when I want a longer Siglo 2. The Siglo 4 also shares similar characteristics to the other two.

[monkey66]

This is an awesome thread showing there is real knowledge within the forum. This should be a sticky that all new smoker can read to get a quick taste of cigar info.

Jeremy i had a 10 year aged Dunhill 3 weeks ago and i found it very strong indeed. So much so for the next 40 mins i had a head rush and was like a walking zombie.

Fro clarity that would have been a non-Cuban Dunhill, apart from the name absolutely nothing to do with the Cuban Dunhill smokes, characteristics or profile (discontinued in 1991).

NB - whilst original Cuban Dunhill and Davidoff smokes are considered 'holy grail' buyer beware! Many have simply expired (especially Davidoff) and are long past their prime, there are many fakes that have been doing the rounds that are good fakes. Personally I would not put real money into even a single unless I knew the source very well.

[monkey66]

Sadly in the last 12-15 years there has been tremendous dilution in the core blends. Factory's went from individual owners (who in many cases were the 'guardian' of the blend) to state owned. There have been changes in seed stock and genetics and a big push for mass-market output.

It does seem that the quality has made a big improvement in the last few years but the 'true to marca' sticks are too rare IMHO.

[butternutsquashpie]

Hahahahaha. No worries Fords. Last time you said you were smoking a dunhill, I freaked out thinking it was a Cuban dunhill!
But aye. That I've heard of Davidoffs being stale now. I've a mate who's smoked an old Tubos kept one and in some aspects, even the Dominican Davidoffs were better than his 500 dollar stick! Dunhills seem to still have some kick in em.... But for $1000, I'd rather get myself 5 Cohiba Millennium 2000 sticks

but the 'true to marca' sticks are too rare IMHO.

Could you list some examples of the those sticks though?? Having starting cigars relatively in the new (hence shite) age of Cuban cigars, I can never have what they would've 10.... Or even 5 years ago. (including not having the knowledge)

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